Friday, October 30, 2015

Chilly mornings and nights are the norm now, though mid days are above 32 degrees, so the inevitable snow is presenting itself as rain. As a bike commuter, I cannot complain. As someone itching to get out the sleds, skis, and skates -- let's get going.

The Alaska Aces have many weekend hockey games throughout a given month, but only one that is at 3pm (the majority are at 7 pm). We're making it a goal to make that game each month, and the first one was a success. Henry and Maggie both wore jerseys, gobbled popcorn, marveled at the Zamboni, and snuck as many pulls of diet coke as possible. It all adds up to a great time made even better by several hours of home time to calm down after a long game. Next time we'll need to come a little early and try to snag a puck during warm-ups.

The Bonny Sosa races are a weekly cross-country running fall series here in Anchorage. I had not run them before, but seeing as Henry is a big 4 year old that loves to run, we pumped him up with tales of wooded paths, sprinting crowds, and opportunities to wear his beloved Hershey sweatshirt. He was in, and we quickly planned on attending the nights that were on the east (our) side of town.

The first munchkin race was 1.25K and the second was 1.5K. He ran the first one non-stop while holding my hand, finishing with a smile and a question. "Where is our championship cup?"

The second race found Henry just starting to develop a cough, but doggedly wanting to participate anyway. During the race we downshifted into some walking now and again, but Henry powered through and sprinted the final 30 yards as Mommy and Piper waved and yelped at us.

Running around the woods with a smiling kid is always a victory.

Time marches on. Piper is old enough and has enough teeth to now find herself with a chart and a recurring appoint with Dr. Bob. She didn't mind his peering into her mouth with a small light, nor his touching her gums for impending teeth. She did have a little fit when the fluoride was applied, but that's fair enough.

Henry had that reaction at that age as well, and now he sits quietly with sunglasses as his teeth are examine, the sugar bugs picked and buffed away. I have to believe his comfort at the dentist is largely because of some rocky visits 3 years ago that soon gave way to familiarity.